An Austin man is accused of hitting his 4-year-old daughter near her eye with a spoon and beating her with a belt, according to an arrest affidavit.
The girl told authorities that her father, Matthew Harris, had hit her in the eye with a spoon because she couldn’t count high enough, the affidavit said.
Matthew Harris, 31, was charged with injury to a child and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
The Williamson County sheriff’s office began investigating after the 4-year-old girl told a substitute teacher at Jollyville Elementary on Oct. 18 that Harris had hit her near her left eye, the document said.
It said a deputy noticed a redness near the girl’s eye that was consistent with an injury that was healing.
The girl later said that Harris had hurt her on her belly, back, lips and eye, the affidavit said. It said she also told an investigator that Harris had whipped her on the abdomen with a belt.
The deputy noticed on photos of the girl’s injuries that she had several dark linear markings with a loop-end on her abdomen and a 2-inch wide bruise on her bicep that were all consistent with being beaten with a belt, the affidavit said.
